Kurds may join other Iraqi forces to remove Maliki

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Kurds may join other Iraqi forces to remove Maliki

08/04/2012 18:56

ERBIL, April 8 (AKnews) - Kurds may join other Iraqi forces to attempt to remove Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki - who has been accused of autocracy and dictatorship - if he continues in his political behavior, said a Kurdish observer.

Falakaddin Kakayi, who is a former KRG minister and close to President of the Kurdistan Region Massoud Barzani, said Barzani is expected to hold talks with the Kurdish and Iraqi political forces about “the current situations in Iraq, in particular discussing the situations in Baghdad, the direction of which show that it is stepping into dictatorship”.

No dates for such meetings have been set yet, according to Kakayi. Barzani has just concluded his time in the US and is now due to visit Hungary in addition to other European countries.

Kakayi said: "Now part of the political forces in Iraq are working on removing Maliki from his position as PM. And I believe that if Maliki continues his current behavior and dealing with the Kurdistan Region then I think the Kurds in the future will join those parties who are after such a bid."

Barzani criticized Maliki in an address last month during the Nawroz celebrations for his autocratic rule and grip of power. He also warned that if problems between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad remained unsolved then the Kurdish leadership would take action according to the will of the Kurdish people.

Political sciences academic Bukhari Abdullah said: “The way Nouri al-Maliki rules clearly shows autocracy and is heading towards dictatorship. Since he his accession to power, he is in disputes with many of Iraq’s political parties.

“Over the last two years he has even entered disputes with those parties who were his allies. His disputes are not only with the Kurds and the Sunni Arabs, but also with part of the Shiites as well."

Part of the problems between Maliki and the mainly-Sunni bloc, al-Iraqiya, stem from Maliki's rejection of Iraqiya's candidates for the positions they were entitled to under the Erbil agreements.

In December 2010 the political parties came to a power-sharing deal following an eight-month deadlock after a series of meetings held in Erbil under the supervision of Barzani.

But ever since, Maliki has been working as acting Defense Minister, National Security Minister, Interior Minister and acting intelligence chief.

Abdullah said the “administration of these positions is not Maliki’s specialty and this is a serious indication that Maliki’s behaviors lead him to dictatorship”.

Al-Iraqiya spokesperson Maysoon al-Damluji told AKnews earlier today that her bloc is seeking a consensus with other political blocs to withdraw confidence from al-Maliki’s cabinet.

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Iraqiya List seeks national consensus to topple Maliki's government

08/04/2012 13:23

BAGHDAD, April 8 (AKnews) - Iraqiya List is seeking a "national consensus" to withdraw the confidence of PM Nouri al-Maliki's government, while the State of Law Coalition (SLC) and the Kurdish Blocs Coalition (KBC) denied the possibility of such a move.

Iraqiya spokeswoman Maisoun al-Damlouji said a national consensus would be sought to withdraw confidence if Iraqiya and the KBC were able to collect 163 votes.

Iraqiya, led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, objects to the management of the country by Maliki. Iraqiya believes the PM has taken all of the political power.

Maliki says that the powers granted to him are constitutional and those who oppose him must change the constitution instead of apportioning blame.

Iraqiya's discussion of withdrawing confidence from Maliki's government came after the preparatory committee on Wednesday failed to agree on the agenda of the national conference, which was scheduled to take place on Thursday at the request of President Jalal Talabani.

Damlouji said Iraqiya has established ongoing dialogue with parties in the National Coalition (NC) to withdraw confidence from the government.

But the KBC said that it has yet to discuss the issue and rules out that the move will happen.

KBC member Shuan Taha said: "The coalition [KBC] was not asked to withdraw confidence and the efforts are focused on discussing the possibility of finding solutions to the political problems.

"There are signs for resolving the crisis, particularly between Baghdad and Erbil, after the announcement that the Kurdistan Regional Government is seeking to form a higher council to negotiate with the federal government and hold a closed meeting for the three presidencies."

The SLC, led by Maliki, considered a withdrawal of confidence from the government as "media escalation".

SLC member Salman al-Moussawi said: "Despite the disputes between the SLC and the Kurds, the strong alliance between them wasn't separated.

"Talking about the possibility of a withdrawal of confidence from the government is a media escalation against the government's success in hosting the Arab summit in Baghdad."

The Kurdistan Region joined the political crisis recently after the region's President Massoud Barzani said the Erbil agreement has yet to be applied.

The agreement proposed by Barzani ended a nine-month dispute over who should run the government following March 2010's elections. The deal, which was signed by all the major political party leaders in Erbil, reinstated Maliki for the second successive term.

Maliki's elections rival, Ayad Allawi, whose Iraqiya List won the elections, was promised a National Council for Strategic Policies in return for his concession over the PM post. The council was not formed and the PM's State of Law Coalition and Iraqiya began incriminating and accusing each other of violating the Erbil pact.

Barzani made a proposal last month to resolve Iraqi Vice President Tareq Hashemi's issue politically and hold a meeting between Iraqiya and the three presidencies to make a decision on the matter.

The Kurdistan Region decided to stop all oil exports at the start of this month in protest against Baghdad's non-payment of the dues owed to the foreign oil companies operating in the region.

The KRG also called on the federal government on Thursday to form a committee between Erbil and Baghdad to investigate the mutual accusations between the two sides about the smuggling of Iraqi oil.

The call came after the Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani accused Kurdistan of smuggling oil to Iran and Turkey. This was denied by politicians and officials in the region.